


Dimidium Animae Tribus

by silverneko9lives0



Series: Dimidium Animae [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, BDSM, Ghosts, Hogwarts Fifth Year, Horcrux Hunting, M/M, Order of the Phoenix - Freeform, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Resurrection Stone, The Deathly Hallows
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2019-11-04 01:34:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17889056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverneko9lives0/pseuds/silverneko9lives0
Summary: The Third Instalment of the Dimidium Animae Series. The hunt is on, but even with Merope’s help, destroying the horcruxes isn’t going to be as easy as hoped.





	1. Chapter 1

Walking down the stone corridor, heels clicking against the floor, he approached the wall again. Examining it. Trying to figure it out. Glaring as though its mere existence was an insult.

The trolls and Barnabus the Barmy watched him from their tapestry, wondering what he was doing.

Severus paced back and forth, like a beast wanting to prowl but only given the room in his little cage.

“C’mon,” he growled at the wall. “I know you’re there. Show me the room where the diadem is.”

As if mocking him, the wall remained a wall. With a tired sigh, Severus ran his hand through his hair.

He needed to take a step back. He needed a break. Yet they only had two days before students would head home and once they did, so would he and the rest of the staff.

He didn’t want to leave school without having destroyed _one_ horcrux.

Otherwise, the diadem would be the last one left.He’d rather not leave something so dangerous around longer than it already had. Severus turned on his heel and made his way back to his and Remus’ room…

He stopped as an idea flickered in his head. He approached the wall again.

 _A place to hide it,_ he thought. _A place to hide it._

The wall shimmered as a wood door appeared before him. He entered the room, shocked at the sight of the large room, filled with books, missing socks, clothes, shoes, furniture, broken glass and quills, dried ink, old parchments – years and years of lost things that must have congregated here in this room.

Thousands, perhaps millions, of items piled high to the ceiling.

Severus pulled his wand out.

“ _Accio Diadem_ ,” he said.

Nothing.

He didn’t think it’d work, but it was worth trying.

Severus exhaled and began to search, using his wand to clear and organize the space, burning and vanishing debris he’d come across.

As he worked to find the diadem horcrux, he slowly disrobed, teacher’s robes growing too heavy and hot. He laid them down on a table as he searched, rolling his sleeves up his forearms.

Every so often, he’d cast a tempus charm, checking the time.

Minutes had gone by into hours.

He debated sending Remus a patronus to let him know where he was, in case he lost track of time, but decided against it. He had the tempus charm. He’d be all right.

Besides, Remus had been dragged off to Hogsmeade by the kids in his school paper, _The Hogwarts Report_ , before noon. He likely wasn’t back yet, being dragged here and there by the ten teenagers – the five reporters, two editors, and three photographers – that had come to view him as a mentor.

Remus could handle them better than Severus anyway.

Even so, he was sure he’d hear from Remus eventually, especially if he did lose track of time.

He opened a box and smirked. Silver, sapphire, and diamond gleamed back at him. The crown was shaped as an eagle with wings spread wide.  It was a pity he had to destroy it. It was beautiful.

A soft whisper came from it, like a distant call or summon. Severus exhaled again, pulling free his basilisk fang before picking up the diadem –

_His head snapped to the side._

_The force of the slap sent him flying against the wall._

_Hyperventilating, Severus curled into a ball, trying to protect as much of himself as he could as the belt buckle smacked his back and arms and legs._

_“Stop!” his mother shouted, seizing Tobias’ wrist. “It was an accident! Please stop!”_

_Severus jumped, racing away as his father turned his fury onto his mother._

_He locked his door and scrambled to his bed, skidding his knees against the carpet as he pulled his kit out. He whispered the incantation as he cut his finger and placed a few drops at the base of the doorframe._

_Already she was screaming, even as the shield glowed blue and drew upward over the door._

_Once the spell was complete, Severus grabbed his walkman and headphones, turning the music on and drowning out his mother’s screams–_

“Severus!”

He gasped and looked around, trying to figure out where he was.

Back in the Room.

Remus gripped his shoulders tight, eyes filled with worry and anger.

In the corner, the diadem laid broken, shattered in a hundred pieces.

Some of the shards were black as coal.

Charred.

Severus shook, lowering his hands from his ears.

“How long…” he croaked. Severus cleared his throat. “How long was I…um…”

“I don’t know, but I got here ten minutes ago.”

“You knew?”

“Merope helped me find you,” Remus said. Severus sighed, cursing himself for not being more careful. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” Severus snapped. “I don’t.”

He stood, massaging his jaw. Remus stood as well. “Had to punch you to get you out of it,” he admitted. “If that hadn’t worked, I’d have sent for Poppy.” Severus hummed. “Why did you go after it alone?”

“I didn’t want to wait,” he said.

Remus sighed. Still angry, Severus guessed. He supposed he’d be angry, too, if their positions were reversed.

“I won’t do it again,” he vowed. “I think we’ll need some sturdy gear, too.”

“No shit,” Remus said, still frowning.

“I’ll make it up to you,” he promised. Even then, Remus still seemed angry. “Was it really that bad?”

“I never want to see you like that again, Severus,” he said. “You were just…you weren’t here. It was like you were trapped in some sort of hell or…”

“Yeah, that’s pretty close.” With as little detail as possible, he told Remus what it had done. The memory he was forced to relive.

Remus took Severus’ hands in his own. “I’m sorry you saw that,” he said. “But maybe now you’ll not dare to go after them alone again.”

Severus nodded, refusing to close his eyes. Even now, he felt the residual pain from the buckle hitting his skin. Could still hear the echoes of his mother’s screams and father’s yells…

“Good,” Remus said. “Let’s get out of here.”

#

Severus didn’t sleep well the week after the Diadem was destroyed. The memories of what his father had been like left him feeling ill and nervous. He’d get bits of sleep, but once he started to dream, the memories took over.

Remus wished he could make dreamless sleep as well as any other potioneer, but he wasn’t nearly as good as Severus. Even so, Severus wouldn’t touch one that wasn’t made by him specifically. Given his state, Remus didn’t want Severus to make the potion himself.

So, they were stuck dealing with it.

Remus reassured Severus that he could talk to him about his past, but otherwise didn’t press. Nor did Severus dare say a thing about the memory he was forced to relive until the sixth sleepless day.

As he recounted the memory in full, Remus was torn. He was angry. Furious. He wanted to do something – anything – to ease Severus’ pain.

But what?

Both of Severus’ parents were dead. And even if they weren’t, Tobias Snape likely wouldn’t want to face the truth of his actions and the effect they had on his son. He likely wouldn’t have cared.

Remus’ parents weren’t perfect. He knew that, but given what he knew now…

Compared to Severus’ family, his were the epitome of stability. Still, after that, Severus slept far more peacefully as Remus held him close, running his hands through his hair.

The following morning, Remus woke before Severus. The heat was seeping into the room already and they’d abandoned the blankets in the middle of the night, which had fallen to the floor.

Remus stretched, drawing enough strength back into his limbs to get out of bed. His feet touched the carpet just as Severus took his wrist.

“G’morning,” Severus groaned.

Remus leaned over him and kissed his forehead.

“I was going to get breakfast started, Love. Any requests?”

Severus hummed and shook his head. He tucked a strand of ebony behind Severus’ ear and Severus’ grip slackened as he went back to sleep.

Remus headed down the stairs, pulling a bathrobe on as he headed to the kitchen.

There, he found eggs, milk, and sausages. It wasn’t much, but it would do.

As Remus cooked, his thoughts strayed back to his fury. It might not have excused the way Severus had treated his students in the past, but at least Remus could understand where it came from.

Severus might’ve thought he was fine without really realizing how damaging he had truly been. Remus sighed and made a conscious decision to help his lover stay accountable to his actions.

He was getting better, true. Some students actually were enjoying potions now.

And Severus himself?

Well, he was never going to be a picture of proper mental health, but he was getting better. That was all Remus could hope for.

He half expected to hear heavy footsteps rushing toward the kitchen, as they had the previous summer. Remus had known it’d take some readjusting, but as it was, he wished it wouldn’t be so…

Empty?

Silent?

Well, it wasn’t as though Harry was unwelcome. He’d visit with Sirius sooner or later. Though, he half thought he’d get teased relentlessly by his friend if he asked about it.

Harry was safer with Sirius anyway.

Sirius wasn’t a former death eater, nor was he a werewolf.

Even if they didn’t have any issues the previous summer with either fact, it was still safer. Harry could surpass the emotional abuse his aunt and uncle threw at him. That he was hardly affected at all made Remus wonder what it was about the lad that made him so strong…


	2. Chapter 2

Two arms circled around his waist.

“Finally awake?” he teased, as Severus kissed his shoulder.

“As awake as I can hope to be. Coffee. I need coffee.”

“Wouldn’t you prefer tea?”

“Not in the morning.” Severus released him and went to make himself a cup. “We should start hunting the other horcruxes.”

Remus arched a brow at him. “Are you sure? You’re still reeling from what the last one did.”

“I lived through it once before then and I got over it.”

“Sev –”

“I’m _fine_ ,” he stressed. “Nor do any of my emotional traumas change the fact that we need to take care of them. If anything, it should make me more determined to find them and destroy them if only to prevent what happened to me from happening to someone else.”

He poured the coffee into a cup and took a deep gulp.

Remus grimaced. He hated black coffee, but Severus preferred it over anything. He couldn’t understand it.

“Fine, but later. We’re meeting my parents tonight,” Remus reminded him.

Severus hummed, setting his cup down.

“Good point. Still don’t want to tell them about the Horcruxes?”

“Absolutely not!”

His parents hadn’t wanted him to go to Hogwarts. Telling them he was hunting and destroying dark artifacts in his spare time…

He was certain they’d rather hear about their upcoming wedding anyway.

“Joking, Pet.”

“Well, don’t,” Remus snapped. “It’s not funny. My parents tend to undergo minor brain hemorrhages concerning anything that is dangerous. Its miraculous they’re still alive after all the crap I put them through.”

“I think you’re too hard on yourself, Remus,” Severus said. “But I agree we shouldn’t bring up what we’re doing over the summer vacation. If only so that they don’t try to murder me for putting their perfectly brilliant son in danger. Never mind that he’s one of the foolhardiest nutters I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.”

“I’m not that bad. If anything, I think they’d be more afraid of me mauling you.”

“As if you could,” Severus smirked. “I’ve got you too well trained.”

“You? Train me? Love, there is nothing you do to me that I do not let you do. So, who’s training who?” Remus arched a brow at Severus, returning his smirk.

Severus hummed.

“I fear that’s a trick question and I like our bed too much to risk getting kicked out, so…”

Remus chuckled and waved his wand. The table set itself magically as he finished making breakfast.

“So, we should floo over around six tonight,” he said. “Granted so long as my stomach behaves itself. I think I’m more nervous than you are, and they raised me.”

Severus finished his coffee.

“I’m pretty sure that’s a testament to how well you know your parents, Pet. Given you’re all right with them meeting me, I think that says a lot about how much you trust them. Besides, I look forward to meeting your parents because they were _actually_ parents.”

“I know,” Remus said, dividing the eggs between them. “But at the same time, my parents are mad. I almost didn’t attend school because of what I am.”

“But they did let you go to school. And now you’re one of the most talented wizards I know, lycanthropy regardless, with a good job at the school and we’ll likely see new magical historians before the century ends now that you’re teaching the subject. Add to it, you’re engaged to a genius potioneer who _really_ should get back to finetuning the Wolfsbane potion.”

“Damn right, you should,” Remus said with little bite. “It still tastes like goblin piss.”

“I am trying to find a way to make it taste better and I know it’d be ideal if it smelled and tasted like chocolate. So far, my experiments have, at best, made it smell like weed. Not bad, but you probably don’t want to smell of it. Granted, I’m sure a lot of werewolves wouldn’t mind it. Get a little high during the full moon.”

“I wouldn’t mind that as much as you think.”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t, but during the school year, I think that would get us in trouble. Not to mention we’d likely have some of the students breaking into our offices to _find_ marijuana.”

“Ah. Good point.”

#

At five o’clock, on the hour, Remus and Severus flooed over to the Lupin household.

The first thing Severus noted was the bookcase adjacent to the fireplace. 

It was a large case, spanning half the wall, and filled top to bottom.

Remus had gone off to the kitchen, or so Severus thought, leaving Severus to explore on his own. He didn’t mind, curious of the mix of magical and muggle tomes lining the books.

One and a half shelves were solely Tolkien works!

Not just the Lord of the Rings series and the Hobbit, but the Lost Tales, Tom Bombadil, The Silmarillion – even post-humous works edited by the author’s son!

“You seem entranced,” Remus whispered in his ear, wrapping his arms around Severus’ waist. “Jeez! It’s grown! Mum never said that more works came out.”

“Seems like we’ve some hunting to do.”

“Or we could just borrow these ones,” Remus pointed out. “Save the trouble and money of having our own collection. Chances are my parents will just gift these to us when they kick it.”

“Well that’s a nice thing to say about your parents!”

Remus and Severus turned to the man who had come down the stairs. He was short, thin, and balding. Severus glanced from the man to Remus, noting the similarities between them.

Remus chuckled.

“I did not intend for you to hear that, Dad. Sorry.”

“Eh, it’s true anyway, if your mother has any say in who gets her collection. This your boyfriend?”

“Fiancé, Dad,” Remus corrected. Severus held his hand out.

“Wonderful to meet you, Mr. Lupin.”

“Lyall is fine, lad,” he answered, taking Severus’ hand in his own. “Potioneer, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And Potions Master at Hogwarts. Head of Slytherin,” Remus added.

“You say that like it’s an actual achievement.”

“Let me brag,” Remus said, nudging him with his elbow. “I’m allowed to do that, aren’t I?”

“How about you wait till your mum gets home from the store,” Lyall said, patting Remus’ shoulder. “Fancy a drink, Severus?”

“Butterbeer will be fine.”

“You sure? I’ve fire whiskey if you’d like something stronger.”

“I don’t drink alcohol for personal reasons,” Severus said, hoping he kept his tone light.

He’d really hate to get into his past with Remus’ father, though he did think Lyall wouldn’t judge him for it. Thankfully, Lyall left it be.

“Butterbeer it is. Remus?”

“I’ll have a butterbeer, too.”

“Excellent. Make yourselves comfortable. Be back in a bit.”

“Dad, I know where the kitchen is. I can –”

“Your mum’ll murder me if I start interrogating your man without her. Relax, Remus. We’ve made some renovations since you left home, anyway.”

Remus sighed and let him go, pulling Severus with him to the couch. “Not too stuffy, I hope?”

“Could be stuffier,” Severus admitted. “But it could be worse.”

“True. You could be having to deal with James’ parents.”

“Thank Merlin I don’t.”

The front door downstairs opened, and a female voice echoed a greeting through the home. Remus jumped to his feet, wand out, and waved it. Bags of groceries moved swiftly to the kitchen.

The lady that emerged from the steps was shorter than her husband and son. Her silver hair had, clearly, once been blonde and yet she remained as beautiful now in her later years as she had when she was younger.

Severus glanced between her and Remus, noting the similarities between them.

While Remus certainly took after his father in appearance, there were definite features that were clearly inherited from his mother. Remus motioned for Severus to approach, grinning brightly.

“Mum, this is Severus. My fiancé.”

Severus held his hand out to her.

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Lupin.”

“Now, now, my name is Hope. And I’m a hugger.”

“Oh. Okay.”

He glared at Remus over Hope’s shoulder. He could’ve been warned, but nope. Remus had decided to withhold that information and snigger at him.

“Has Lyall offered you drinks? Food?” She looped her arm around Severus’. “Dinner will be ready in a little while, yet.”

“Dad’s getting some drinks now,” Remus assured her.

_“Save me.”_

_No. She’s going to be your mother in law. Get used to it._

“You arrived just as we were settling in. Do you need help putting the groceries away? We wouldn’t mind helping.”

“Your father can manage that part well enough. Just relax, Love. Dinner will be ready soon enough.”

She released Severus just as Lyall returned with a couple glasses of full butterbeer. Remus glanced at them suspiciously.

“You didn’t do anything to them, did you.”

“Oh, please, Remus,” Lyall scoffed. “As if we’d need to use any underhanded tactics like veritaserum or some other truth potion.”

“You did it once!”

“Once. Yes,” Lyall said. “You and your friends were getting into trouble. As usual. Had to do something to get them to admit they were keeping you company during the full moons. Stupid thing to do then, even if they did manage to become animagi so young…”

“Okay, okay, I’ll let it go.”

“You keep saying that, love,” Hope sighed. “But you still haven’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Lyall_Lupin
> 
> https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Hope_Howell


	3. ON HIATUS

Hey guys!

First of all, thanks to everyone who's been reading. I hope you'll stay with me for a while longer.

I got a new job and while I am trying to get a page in a day, that's not been the case for all the stories I'm working on. So I decided to go back to a one at a time method. For the foreseeable future, I'll be working on my Drarry story, Gold and Silver Cracks. 

I'm not abandoning any of my current works in progress. When I get back to this one, I'll delete this message and upload the next chapter. 

Thank you, everyone, for being such great readers and for being so patient with me.

With much love,

Silver.


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